The Need

In India, about 47 percent of rural women are illiterate. Living in poverty with a limited education greatly hinders these women from finding quality jobs to support their families. They are often at risk of being trapped in dehumanizing professions (like the sex trade) in order to feed their children.

Solution

You can empower poor women in slum areas and rural villages with valuable sewing skills and a sewing machine so they can earn a respectable living and help their families. The women will attend a tailoring school and receive six months of training, where they will develop their sewing skills and learn about basic business practices. Once a woman graduates from the tailoring program, she will receive her own treadle (foot powered) sewing machine. She will be able to start her own tailoring business from home and earn a daily income that can provide food and basic necessities for her whole family.

Long-Term Impact: How your gift will change lives

Your gift will help women in India develop a sense of self-worth. Sewing gives them a chance to do something meaningful even with a limited education. You will provide them with a sewing machine to start their own self-sustaining tailoring business. These women, who are often poor mothers and widows, will have an opportunity to use their skills to rise out of poverty and work toward a promising future for themselves and their families.